Deposed Crown Prince: After three years of service on the frontier, the entire court knelt and begge

When their team passed by.

Their delegation was already waiting at the door.

Xiao Xiangqing was with Diliti, whose face was slightly arrogant and domineering.

However, before Diliti could speak, the dog beside him eagerly walked towards Xiao Ce.

Upon arriving in front of Xiao Ce, Xiao Xiangqing cursed, "Xiao Ce, what's wrong with you? Didn't we agree to depart at Chenshi? Why are you dawdling like this? Are you trying to put on airs? Let me tell you, you are no longer the Crown Prince, nor the King of Mobei. You are a hostage representing the Xiao Kingdom."

“Your every move represents our Great Xiao, so you need to keep a low profile, understand? If you provoke a war between the two countries, you will be an unforgivable sinner, understand?”

Xiao Ce watched as Xiao Xiangqing jumped and hopped arrogantly in front of his horse.

His expression remained normal, and he immediately dismounted.

Looking at the aura emanating from Xiao Ce, Xiao Xiangqing felt it was the same aura he had when he was about to beat him up.

I instinctively took a few steps back.

Pointing at Xiao Ce, he said, "You...you...what are you doing...what are you doing...don't you know where you are?"

Xiao Ce gave a wicked smile and then walked towards him.

Xiao Xiangqing was all too familiar with that smile.

The last time Xiao Ce showed that smile, he got a beating for sure.

Xiao Xiangqing cried out in fright, "Uncle, call some people to protect me..."

Diliti immediately sent people to protect Xiao Xiangqing.

Xiao Ce did not go up, and still had a faint smile on his face.

"Eighth Brother, what are you afraid of? I wanted to come down and give you a hug. I also want to thank you for your guidance."

"What are you afraid of? I'm not going to eat you."

Hearing Xiao Ce's words, Xiao Xiangqing felt a chill run down his spine. He didn't know why he was so 'useless'.

Still under the protection of several soldiers, he pointed at Xiao Ce and said, "Hmph, don't pretend... Let me tell you, there's no one else here. You don't need to pretend anymore. Show your true colors."

Xiao Ce still had a smile on his face: "Eighth Brother, are you confused...? I don't understand what you're saying?"

Seeing Xiao Xiangqing's frightened expression, Diliti took a few steps forward and said to Xiao Ce, "Your Highness, don't you know?"

Xiao Ce smiled and said, "I don't know."

Diliti said to Xiao Ce, "Your Highness, I will let you know!"

Xiao Ce looked at Dilit without backing down and said with a smile, "Then I'll wait and see."

Xiao Xiangqing pointed at Xiao Ce and said, "Uncle, am I right, just like you said? He's a sheep in wolf's clothing... He's finally showing his teeth now."

Diliti snorted and said, "He's a wolf, and I'm the best hunter!"

Then Diliti said to Xiao Ce, "Your Highness, if you want to pretend, if you want to act, then continue! I hope you can give me some surprises!"

When Xiao Ce heard Diliti say this, he smiled and said, "Grand Preceptor Diliti, what do you mean? I didn't understand a word you said."

Diliti's face hardened as he said, "Fine, if you like to pretend, then keep pretending. I know you deliberately made us take you along as a hostage. Don't worry, I will definitely not let you succeed!"

Xiao Ce smiled but remained silent.

Just then, some people from the Western Regions beside them said, "It's getting late, we should set off."

Diliti glared at Xiao Ce fiercely, then mounted his horse.

Xiao Ce's face was filled with disdain.

Thinking to myself, I really did misjudge him.

When I first saw him, I thought he was a ruthless person.

Unexpectedly, he turned out to be an incompetent fool as well.

It's unclear how he managed to get into this position and how he gained the trust of the people of the Western Regions Alliance.

Of course, Xiao Ce did not rule out the possibility that Dilit was deliberately pretending to be stupid and naive in order to lower people's guard against him.

Although the possibility is very small.

As he spoke, Diliti directed his troops, positioning Xiao Ce's team in the center.

They noticed the few people beside Xiao Ce and felt a sense of apprehension.

However, upon seeing the hundred carefree guards behind them, they couldn't help but show disdain in their eyes.

Diliti, who was walking at the front, said to Xiao Xiangqing, "Abbas, you're just scared of him. To me, he's just putting on a brave front. I don't think your information is accurate either. He was powerful before, but that was all thanks to the King of Zhen. Now that the King of Zhen has fallen, what use is he?"

Xiao Xiangqing said to Diliti, "Then why didn't he resist when he was a hostage this time? My strategist said that he deliberately wanted to go to the Western Regions!"

Diliti said with a face full of disdain, "What do you mean by 'intentionally'? Let's see how he refuses! I don't think your strategist's words are reliable either."

Looking at Dilit's appearance, Xiao Xiangqing wanted to say something to persuade him.

Diliti said to Xiao Xiangqing, "Once I'm far away from your capital, I'll kill him directly, and then you'll know he's nothing! You've seen what kind of guards he has around him; only a few assassins left for him by the King of Zhen have any real skill! But I have a way to completely suppress those assassins!"

"Tell me, what's with all the arrogance? What makes him so cocky? Once I take care of his henchmen, no matter how powerful he is, he'll just be a tiger with its teeth pulled... I can take care of him at will, won't I?"

Upon hearing Dilit's words, Xiao Xiangqing recalled the people Dilit had captured from the King of Zhen.

His eyes immediately lit up.

"Uncle, so you mean we're worrying too much?"

Dili nodded: "That's right, the Mr. Qianlong you mentioned. Didn't you say he was also beaten into submission by him in the Northern Desert? That Mr. Qianlong you're talking about might be like you, traumatized by him..."

After hearing Diliti's words, Xiao Xiangqing nodded.

Diliti said, "Don't worry, I'll see how it goes. If he obeys and is tamed by us, I'll let him live a wretched life, and you can take revenge yourself later. If he doesn't obey, I'll kill him and make sure he can't even go to the Western Regions."

Xiao Xiangqing's eyes gleamed with excitement: "If that's the case, then that would be best..."

...

They went out as a team, and no one came to see them off.

When they arrived at the city gate, Yin Weiyong was there.

After exchanging a few official pleasantries, they left.

Yin Weiyong didn't say anything to Xiao Ce, since the two of them had already said everything they needed to say beforehand.

Although not many officials came, quite a few ordinary people did.

Some of them came to see Xiao Ce off spontaneously.

Although the Department of Punishments had definitively determined King Xiao Dingshan's guilt and ruled his death as a suicide out of fear of punishment,

However, the people simply did not believe the verdict.

Because Xiao Ce had Qian Dafang secretly control public opinion.

Everyone felt that someone wanted to harm the King of Zhen, since if the King of Zhen really wanted to rebel, he would have left long ago. With his connections, leaving the capital would have been a piece of cake.

Therefore, Xiao Ce is now being treated as a hostage.

The people all felt that this was persecution.

After all, Xiao Ce had just come up with a brilliant plan to mix sand into the disaster relief efforts, and then he was sent away as a hostage.

The people naturally connected the two things.

In addition, the relationship between Xiao Ce and Xiao Dingshan had been the subject of much speculation and rumors.

In this situation, it can be said that once the cunning rabbit dies, the hunting dog is cooked.

Xiao Dingbang probably never expected that what he intended to make Xiao Ce take the blame for would actually elevate Xiao Ce's standing in the eyes of the people.

On the contrary, it made the people feel more sympathy for this 'poor' eldest prince.

After all, Xiao Ce was the crown prince before he was demoted to the northern desert.

He was at least a prince in the northern desert.

Now that Xiao Dingshan is dead, he can't even be a prince in a remote, desolate place anymore; he's been thrown into a foreign land as a hostage.

These people all felt that compared to this eldest prince, their lives were not so bitter.

As soon as Diliti and his group went out, their Western Region guards who were originally outside the city immediately came to greet them.

They then surrounded Xiao Ce's group in the center.

We traveled further and further towards Kyoto.

...

Meanwhile, among the crowd at the entrance, there was a man with sharp eyes watching Xiao Ce and his group walk further and further away.

"Are we just going to let him go like that? Wasn't our original plan to leave no one behind, young or old?"

"Let him go."

"He clearly wanted to go to the Western Regions on purpose. Just letting him go like that..."

"Even if we let him go, he might not come back alive. Let's hope he does. Let me see if he really has three heads and six arms."

"If he can return safely from the Western Regions, I'm afraid..."

The young man's eyes sharpened: "Only then can be considered my opponent."

...

Xiao Ce rode his horse alongside the group, leisurely and carefree.

Da Lei looked wary: "Your Highness, I feel like everyone around me is filled with murderous intent..."

Xiao Ce said with a disdainful look, "Don't be afraid! They won't kill me so easily."

Da Lei nodded.

He then asked, "Your Highness, why were those two traitors, Wuwei and Linbang, released?"

As he spoke, Da Lei looked at the two people to one side.

Xiao Ce smiled slightly and said, "It was my arrangement."

Da Lei's eyes widened.

At first, I wanted to ask, but then something suddenly occurred to me.

Without speaking, he looked at Xiao Ce questioningly.

Xiao Ce smiled and nodded: "That's exactly what you think."

Seeing Da Lei's wide eyes, Xiao Ce looked around and whispered in the secret code Xiao Ce had taught him, "The instructor you mentioned is one too."

Da Lei's expression became increasingly interesting, and he replied in the same secret code, "Are they all our people?"

Xiao Ce nodded and whispered, "That's right, they're all our people!"

Da Lei's expression became increasingly interesting.

Upon receiving this news, Da Lei's previously tense nerves relaxed.

They traveled at a moderate pace, neither fast nor slow, until they reached their designated post station.

There were also more than a hundred Western Region guards next to the post station.

Their large numbers meant they camped near the post station.

Xiao Ce's team was personally arranged by Da Lei, even though they were surrounded by the Western Regions guards.

He thought Dilit would come looking for trouble.

However, Dilit's patience was much better than expected.

It was well past midnight when Xiao Ce slept soundly.

A soft call came from outside the tent from Da Lei.

Xiao Ce woke up groggily and asked, "What's wrong?"

"The coach is here!" Da Lei said softly outside the tent.

Upon hearing this voice, Xiao Ce immediately became much more alert.

"Please come in."

As Xiao Ce said this, he subconsciously gripped a flintlock pistol tightly in his hand.

In his other hand, he tightly gripped a grenade.

The first one to come in was Da Lei.

Following closely behind was a man who looked to be about 1.6 meters tall and in his forties or fifties, resembling a veteran.

Seeing this person's thoughts, I realized they were exactly the same as those of the four great assassins I had seen in the palace before.

My first impression was that it was ordinary, though not unremarkable in appearance.

If someone is not particularly good-looking, they are easy to remember at a glance.

The veteran-looking man in front of me was someone I couldn't remember at first glance.

Judging from this appearance, I vaguely remember that among the death row inmates sent from Kyoto to the northern desert, many veterans looked almost exactly the same.

Seeing Xiao Ce sizing him up, the man whom Da Lei called 'Instructor' cupped his hands and said.

"Greetings, King of the Northern Desert!"

Xiao Ce nodded: "You are the ancestor of the assassins that Da Lei mentioned, my master, the 'instructor'?"

Looking at this face, Xiao Ce suddenly remembered that there was indeed such a face in the palace.

If Xiao Ce hadn't had the ability to judge people, this face would never have been associated with a coach.

The veteran-looking man nodded: "Indeed, it is I. Your Highness, King of the Northern Desert, do you think I don't resemble him?"

Xiao Ce shook his head and said with a smile, "Of course not, I am not the kind of person who judges people by their appearance... It's just that I didn't expect it to be you. I saw you in the palace that day, standing next to Deputy General Diliti, dressed as a lowly soldier."

Now it was the 'coach's' turn to be surprised.

"I never expected His Highness the King of the Northern Desert to have such amazing eyesight."

Xiao Ce smiled and said, "That's because you were blind. You saw me before I caught you."

The 'coach' nodded calmly: "If you catch us, then it just proves how useless we are..."

Xiao Ce nodded, not intending to waste any more words.

Instead, he changed the subject: "Instructor, these people here are probably all spies from the Western Regions. You came here so openly, are you alright?"

The coach nodded: "Don't worry, it's alright!"

Xiao Ce asked, "Instructor, why don't you come here?"

Seeing that Xiao Ce had gotten straight to the point, the instructor didn't beat around the bush either, saying bluntly, "Diliti has already given us orders to kill Da Lei and the other assassins the King of Zhen left for you. He's trying to cut off your hands and feet so he can control and torture you..."

Xiao Ce nodded: "So you agreed?"

The coach nodded and said, "That's right, we definitely agree."